National Acrobatic Festival

The national acrobatic festival opened in Peking on March 2. This is the second of five literary and art festivals to be held in 1976 in the capital. Chinese acrobatics which go back a long way in history have taken on new lustre since the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and in the wake of the rapid development of the revolution in literature and art exemplified by the model revolutionary theatrical works. Acrobatics which vividly reflect the revolutionary spirit of the Chinese people are very popular with the workers, peasants and soldiers. The current festival reviews the gains of the revolution in the acrobatic art. It is of great significance in carrying out Chairman Mao's revolutionary line in literature and art and in implementing the principles "Let a hundred flowers blossom; weed through the old to bring forth the new" and "Make the past serve the present and foreign things serve China," in expanding the fruits of the proletarian revolution in literature and art and promoting the efflorescence of socialist acrobatic art. Taking part in the festival are 32 acrobatic troupes from Peking, Shanghai and Tientsin and most of the provinces and autonomous regions, as well as troupes from some military areas and services of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.